Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Beauty Sightings: Sex and the City, season 1

I have a love-hate relationship with Sex and the City. On the one hand, I can see how it brought third-wave feminism to the forefront of pop culture and promoted the idea that strong, powerful women are still mere mortals. On the other hand, I found many of the storylines unrealistic, close-minded with regards to sexuality and gender stereotypes, and yes, even a little anti-feminist by promoting phrases like "I can't be in a committed relationship/marriage because I'm selfish." But truth be told, I've rewatched every episode a dozen times. The show is generally light-hearted, makes me laugh, and contains numerous beauty sightings, though they can be tricky to spot.

Season 1 beauty sightings are especially difficult to capture. The video quality didn't really go up until about season 3 or 4, so any screenshot that can capture the rough textures and colors of the items is bound to be grainy and blurry. Still, I managed to spot a few products I definitely recognized; about half of the rest look very similar. Those who are going to help me with brand names and products, please do! This show ran from the late 90s to the early 2000s.

Carrie's purse gets smacked out of her hand in the first episode. Several gold-cased lipsticks and gold-capped lipglosses pop out--they appear to be Estee Lauder--and a mascara-looking object in a thin white tube with a blue stripe. Anybody recognize the mascara-looking thing? Also, on the right, there's a tube of concealer with a satiny silver cap...I think it might be Clinique?

I can't recognize the silver compact, but a makeup artist friend of mine said that the round lipstick shape and silver-and-black tube are signature 90s Dior. Can anybody back this up for me?

A makeup artist with a bag of tools, and she's holding a sponge, a brush that appears to be from Estee Lauder, and something in a red compact. My immediate reaction was "Kevyn Aucoin!", but I'm pretty sure KA's beauty line launched closer to the time of his death in 2002--this season was filmed in 1988.

Carrie seems to keep a lot of her makeup in this wicker basket. There's also a vanity behind her--it looks like there are some serums and an eyeshadow and blush/gloss in black compacts, but they're hard to see.

Early-episodes Miranda has relatively light, natural brows. Here we see her running a spooly through her brows before she runs off to work.

Anybody recognize this lipstick packaging?

The ladies testing makeup. I'm dying to know what brand these products are! They remind me a lot of Estee Lauder, but of course, I can't be sure. The window in back seems to say "Desse," which isn't a boutique or store I recognize. (Then again, I'm not a New Yorker.)

Carrie in the same boutique holding a compact, most likely an eyeshadow.

Samantha's vanity, which cotton rounds, a powder compact, nail polishes, and lipsticks. Anybody recognize any of this stuff.

Carrie's plummy-pink lipliner. The writing is actually embossed silver. Liners are some of the hardest things to recognize because they're so tiny and their packaging is rarely distinctive.

Carrie's bathroom table. There's a Laura Mercier compact, a lash curler, and a bottle of Benetint. Makeup 411 notes that they used Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage on Sarah Jessica Parker, but I think that's a powder compact. I have a really hard time recognizing the foundation or the hair products. I'm 95% sure the pot of cream on the far right, which keeps popping up, is Ponds. (UPDATE: Emmeleine has pointed out that the cream might actually be Olay. Thanks!)

I don't recognize the liner, but those pots in the center are almost definitely La Femme cake glosses and blushes. EDIT: According to Amanda, the liner is very similar to old-school Stila. Thanks, Amanda! I think the small bottle with the white cap might be another Benefit product...High Beam or Posietint, perhaps?

Carrie applying mascara. I'm pretty sure that this is YSL--confirmation?

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